Bloggers United AU

Finding the perfect foundation is a mission I think we’re all on in life and for those of you who’ve reached foundation bliss, I’m happy for you and also envious, but for those who are still striving for it, maybe this foundation could help you like its helped me!

During one of the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sales I went in with the mission of picking up a new foundation to try. I’ve been out of the ‘makeup new release’ game for a while because I’m trying to use up what I have so I really wasn’t aware of any new foundations to Priceline.

Walking through the aisles I wasn’t really attracted to anything until I walked past (for the second time) the NYX section. To be honest I don’t really buy a lot from NYX nothing really jumps out for me, I know a lot of people have some holy grail items but I’ve always been ‘meh’ about it.

Now if you know me you’ll know I’m obsessed with anything in a dropper. I can’t help it, if I see a dropper attachment on a product I’m going to give it a second look. So I guess that helped me find this foundation. Its the (new?) NYX Total Control Foundation Drops. I’m not sure if these are brand new or if they’re just new to me but the NYX stand in my Priceline had a whole bunch of YouTubers on the display making me think for some reason its new. Thats beside the point. Lets talk about the product.

Packaging:

The packaging is a really nice thick frosted glass bottle with a dropper lid. Its easy to hold even though it is on the smaller side. The dropper top is rubber whilst the tube itself is made of glass. Its easy to use, and not once have I thought I’d break it.

The Product

As you can see the product is VERY watery. Sometimes when I’ve dropped it on my forehead its dripped and run down my face through my eyebrow and almost into my eye. So keep that in mind!

I’ve been incorporating this foundation into my routine for 2 months and I’ve been using it different ways.

Just on my skin

On top of a primer

Mixed in with other foundations

Mixed with primer and foundations

Just on my skin:
I don’t even need to set this foundation. It has a skin like finish nothing too matte or dewy. Silky to the touch but doesn’t transfer. Great for days when you want something light on the face. Very easy to work with. Coverage is medium to full and easily buildable.

On top of a primer:
Similar results for this are hat of the first experiment. It would vary with different primers – I used more of a serum like primer and it didn’t break down the foundation so I’m keen to try out different types of primer to use with this foundation.

Mixing with foundations:I’ve mixed this with a few different foundations and BB creams. In the picture below it is mixed with the Kat Von D Lock It foundation. It didn’t make anything seperate or break down. I find it mixes really well with other products.

Mixed with primer and foundations:I think this is my favourite way to use this foundation. I dot around my face a serum primer, a different foundation and then add the NYX drops. I mix it all together on my face and find that the thicker foundation mixed with the serum makes it easier to apply and then the NYX drops finish it off with a boost of coverage that may have been lost.

The picture above is un edited. There is a slight showing of texture on my forehead and between my brows but that usually happens when I wear the Kat Von D foundation and haven’t prepared my skin. (I have VERY dry skin so texture is a usual occurrence)

Pros and Cons:

PROS
Its easy to use
Light weight
Versatile
Available from Priceline / Target
Works with brush or beauty sponge
Buildable

CONSCan cling to dry areas
Price vs amount. The price of this is $24.99 and you get 13ml. a ‘regular’ foundation is 30ml for the same price and sometimes (most times) cheaper. If this is the only thing you’re using then you’ll probably go through it quickly.
Shade Range – like most brands more shades need to be added.

OVERALL OPINION:I’d probably buy this foundation again, the price hurts my heart a bit, but the fact that its so versatile has swayed me. Its so easy to use and it looks great in photos. Depending on what you need it for/how you use it, it can last a long time. Usually when I wear this foundation I get compliments on my skin/complexion which never goes unwanted. If you’re looking to mix things up, maybe try this one out next time.

Have you tried this product? I’d love to know how you found it if you did. (:

If you’re an Australian Blogger and you’re not apart of Bloggers United AU then you are missing out.

I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about Bloggers United AU before, and I bet you all know what LUSH is so to my delight I was invited to a somewhat exclusive event involving two of my favourite things! Bloggers and Bath goodies!

If you want to read about other BUA and LUSH events just click those links!

To save this post turning into an Oscars acceptance speech, I’ll get the “Thank you’s” out of the way now. A MASSIVE thank you to LUSH Marion for having us and a sincere heartfelt thank you to Bloggers United AU and especially our state reps Kate and Nici. They’ve done so much to unite the Adelaide bloggers and as corny as it sounds I actually feel apart of something. *play the music* I’d also like to thank: Jesus, my mum and all of you lovely people, WE DID IT!

The Event:
We were welcomed by the team at LUSH Marion some of whom I recognised from the previous event (they even recognised lil’ ol’ me) and I was complimented right away on my lipstick. (Jeffrey Star’s Blue Velvet). As I mentioned before, the event was somewhat exclusive the numbers were set by the store (so I’ve been told) and I think there would have been 15 of us in total. There was a lovely LUSH lady writing out name-tags for us as we entered. BEST. IDEA. EVER. I recognised nearly everyone from their blogs and instagram feeds but I couldn’t remember their actual name! (for some). It was mingle time and that meant PHOTOS!

The lighting in the store was great for products but atrocious for photos. The lights are all warm and most of them are down-lights. This meant we were all quite orange toned and horrid shadows were cast across our faces. Never the less, the selfie spree continued! This time bringing in Steph from Howtogirl.net. It was so nice to finally meet her after talking through instagram so much!

I was so happy to finally get a chance to use the big ‘Adelaide Event’ cut out after seeing it so much at the BUA event back in Feb.

It was now time for the talks! Each time there is a LUSH event they (obviously) tell you about the company. I find it fascinating to know all the different ingredients that are in the LUSH products. We had a short talk from each of the staff about certain products, learning all kinds of facts!

Someone obviously has to win, and in the end it was the Steph and Felicia – from thebeautyandthegeekau! Celebratory selfies, winners are grinners girls! These two were on fire when it came to the scavenger hunt, they won by a tie breaker. Great effort!

Shopping Time:Once the Scavenger hunt was over we had free reign over the store to shop till we dropped! It was really good to get time to wanter through LUSH it’s always so busy! But because there was just the small group of us, we had time with the staff to get a decent consultation if we needed and they were more than happy to offer any advice. Last event I picked up some shampoo and conditioner because at the time, my hair was beyond dry! But since cutting my hair I haven’t needed the extra care, so I decided to go with some skincare instead! I’ll be doing a seperate post about my LUSH Haul! So keep your peepers peeled! I do have to say thank you to Tom for helping me and for being super honest about what products to get. (:

Once we’d finished shopping, it was time for some last minute silly selfies! We took the opportunity to selfie with the BUA board. We got caught mid selfie by the photographer so the next two shots are like ‘Selfie-Ception’.

Before you start reading, go and grab a cuppa, we’ll be here for a while I can tell. Its ok, I’ll wait. No, really! Treat yourself I’ll still be here. (:

Alright, are you ready for this? Lets begin! On Sunday the 28th of February I woke with excitement in my heart and nerves the size of bowling balls in my stomach. Today was the Bloggers United Adelaide Event! As I sit here and write this post chomping down on some Cobs Natural Popcorn: Lightly Salted, Lightly Sweet that I found in one of the goodie bags, I’m trying to think of where to start!

Excitement was in the air as a group of fellow bloggers and I walked to the event. We arrived to welcome drinks and I’m glad I had one (three) because it took the edge off. I am such a shy person until I get to drinking talking. The deck was filled with so many beautiful people I thought they were all reps of businesses – nope. Turns out they’re fellow Adelaide Bloggers!

We were welcomed by the founders of Bloggers United AU, Jasmine and Nikita and then again by our Adelaide reps Nici and Kate. We were briefed on how the day would go and then we all huddled together for a group shot by the roving photographer of the day Heidi from Heidi Who Photography(she kindly let attendees use her photos; wherever you see a watermark the photos are hers). We mingled for a little while more and then picked up our first goodie bag and we were off to the first of our stops: A photography master class with Heidi herself! She was such a good person to start the day off with, offering us tips to make our photos better and told us some valuable info about lighting and flatlays! After the talk we then had our own unique map that we had to follow randomly putting us into groups of three. It was now that we started our speed date like talks with the brands!

1: Shanghai Lil and the Scarlet Fez

If you want to see someone passionate about what they do, you must meet Mark McCarthy from Shanghai Lil and the Scarlet Fez or simply: ‘Shanghai Lil’. The creator of all natural soaps, lip balms, and perfumes (please make candles, please make candles). From the moment he started to talk to us about what he does you could see that this is someone who is genuine – something that is a huge selling point for me. I can honestly say I’d never heard of this brand before, but when I found out it was South Australian I got so happy! Someone local I can support! His talk about all natural scents hit me on a personal level (which sounds lame and sales-y). I am someone who loves the smell of dirt after a good rain and the smell of bitumen in the summer I associate so many memories with scent and we had a good little chat about the perfect scent for the perfect occasion. You can find his products online and at the store Have you met charlie? in Adelaide CBD. They also have an online store you can find Shanghai Lil in the ‘designers’ drop down menu or by simply searching Shanghai Lil. $5AUD flat rate shipping Australia wide, Free shipping when you spend over $100AUD and $15AUD for international shipping! If you’re outside of Aus and want some delicious scents of my homeland, don’t hesitate to click and ship! You won’t regret it!

The day was off to a great start!

2: Runway Room – Adelaide

I fell in love with this brand the first time I came into contact with them back in September 2015 when I saw them at the Adelaide Hair and Makeup Show 2015. Kara from Runway Room Adelaide is such a good rep for the business! (and she remembered me from the hair and makeup show so she’s just an all around good egg) The minute I could say something I just started gushing about how much I loved their lipsticks. In no way was I asked to say anything at all. I just had to let her know they’re some of my all time favourite lipsticks! Runway Room itself is a relatively new brand in Australia, founded by Alex Fevola with the motto of ‘Affordable Luxury” and I think that is absolutely correct! Kara gave us a great rundown of the products and everyone went home with a little free lip product and a voucher for a free makeup application. Um, YES PLEASE! I have no idea when I’m going to use it but by golly I will! If you’re looking for some great lipsticks (and great makeup in general) definitely check out Runway Room – I have the shades, Entrepreneur, C.E.O and Gypsy. You won’t be disappointed!

I was already so pleased with the day!

3: Enbacci

We were greeted by Yong-Li from Enbacci a family started business from Australia (yay more Aus companies) sporting some high class skincare! I love the idea behind Embacci: Made for the family. I can totally relate to that. As a child we went on a lot of family holidays and having something as important as skincare to cater for the entire family instead of everyone lugging around their own is such a great idea! We sampled some of their products and the demonstrations by Yong-Li were so professional, and also friendly. She was genuinely excited and dedicated to her families business which was so nice to see. We went home with samples and I can’t wait to try them. The one product that is on my list to purchase is the ‘Microdermabrasion Exfoliating Scrub‘ my skin felt so nice after that. Good lordy!

At this point I could tell we would be carrying a lot of bags so I stored my handbag in the closet (because I forgot to do that first – rookie mistake). Let ‘arm day’ begin!

4: Weleda

A brand I’d heard of but not known much about! Its a company that has been around since the 1920’s – so they’ve had time to build a reputation and get their stuff together when it comes to quality products! I’m sure people know the name Weleda but if you don’t you should! The woman giving the talk to us who’s name I didn’t catch which really irritates me because she was a grade A human being! Was a blast! She was candid and passionate and she and I got on immediately! Our personalities just clicked! She told us so much about the company but also gave us handouts about what products we’d be taking home and more about the company because she said that it was all just an ‘information dump’ and its ok if we forget things! So nice to know that PR’s understand that we’re not going to be able to remember it all. We went home with a full sized ‘Skin Food‘ A very iconic product of Weleda (coming up to its 90year birthday) and our choice of body wash (which was super nice to be able to pick something that is more suited for your skin)

After that talk I was so pumped and excited to keep learning more about businesses!

5: Kismet Jardin

I’d never heard of this brand which makes me sad because it is a South Australian brand! When we walked into the room we were hit with an array of natural smelling everything and a quite professional look to the room, there were a neat stack of Kismet Jardin boxes that looked so precious! I have mixed feelings about the Kismet Jardin room. It is nothing wrong with the brand itself (I’ll get to that in a bit) but more the room they were in. Because we were in apartments the rooms could be quite small and I think for this brand in particular there wasn’t enough air flow and the scents of the products overpowered the small room they were in. At the time I was a little displeased with K.J but after coming home and being able to smell the products individually and explore them in my own time, I’ve become quite curious with the brand and the fact that they’re South Australian peaks my interest even more. The presentation was professional and well done, you can see the true passion the company has when they were talking about their products. There is quite a nice story on their website about the natural world making a comeback from the concrete jungle and pollution of today which is quite cute and I suggest you read it. It brings a lot into perspective. We were given some goodies from K.J, too! I’ve started to use some and will be doing a full review.

We were given so much skincare I want to spend the time to trial everything individually, I don’t want to sit here and say that I love it all when I haven’t tried it. I’d prefer to try it love it or not and THEN tell you.

6: Davroe

Davr-oh my gosh, YES! Another brand I sampled at the Adelaide Hair and Makeup Show and INSTANTLY fell in love with it. The talk was super chilled out and we were all chatting, one of the girls did a little demo on Sarah’s hair. She was fully prepared to do some hair demos she came armed with a brush belt and hot tools! If my hair wasn’t so ‘My hair’ I’d have loved her to do some stuff to it! I have a soft spot for Davroe, its a South Australian brand (yay) and also a girl I know is one of the models. (seriously one of the most beautiful people on the planet) We had a relaxed talk and each of us told them what we wanted from a hair product and what hair type we have and the lovely ladies suggested some products to try out. I thought we’d get to choose a product or two like we did at Weleda but oh no no no, they gave us a sample box of their ENTIRE RANGE! PLUS a full size of their Murray River Sea Salt Spray – I’ve used it, it’s lovely and smells heavenly. I love the companies philosophy and I suggest you give it a read. They’re vegan and cruelty free which I know is a plus in a lot of peoples books!

I was so overwhelmed by the generosity and the candidness the businesses had. I was so humbled by it all. At this point though too, I was also a wee (kinda ravenous) bit hungry which was good, because it was lunch time!

LUNCH

Mixed feelings thy name is Lunch. First off I want to say the lunch provided was delicious a little out of left field in some regard but it was still pretty dang good. However, I have some issues (probably one of the only negative about the day – in my opinion). Lunch was provided by Oporto which is a fast food place. I have issues about that but kinda the least of my problems, I don’t like sounding bitchy or ungrateful but I just think it was a poor choice for a lunch. We’re all bloggers and when we get the chance to take a food pic, by golly we jump on it, but you just can’t take a good pic of fast food. The options for food were limited, and the choice for people who didn’t have any food stipulations (vegetarian/vegan etc) only had the option of a burrito. Was it delicious? Yes. Was it hard to eat? Oh heck yes. The majority of people were beauty bloggers and lets be real here, there is no graceful way to ease your moth around a burrito without having lipstick down your chin (get that mental image in ya). It was also surprisingly spicy, in the sneak peaks I don’t think I saw anything about spicy there – I wasn’t prepared for it. It was also windy (not anyones fault) so hair was blowing around, there wasn’t really enough seating (we went down and sat with some nice beach views it was lovely) so whilst the picnic-esque lunch was cute, it wasn’t ideal. So that’s all I’ll say about it. It was a good lunch with some disappointing aspects.

With lunch over and lipstick reapplied, we were ready for round two of speed dating!

7: Dr. Hauschka

Another pretty well known brand! I’d heard of Dr. Hauschka but I’d never purchased anything. The room they were in was stunning, a small bedroom with a gorgeous spa bathroom! Beautiful views of the ocean and such a gorgeous place to showcase their products. White clean lines, crisp colours. mmm perfection! The philosophy behind the brand really interested me in the fact that they don’t believe in night creams and they believe that the skin needs this time to do its thing and sort itself out which I could really intriguing. The rep was pretty straight forward about products and if they’re suitable for your skin, and if you like them you’ll purchase them if your skin is ready for it. I found her honesty refreshing. I’d like to look into the products to see if I can find something suitable for me. We received a goodie bag though, so I’m keen to try that out!

More goodie bags – I should have hired a sherpa! 1800-AdelaideSherpas?

8: R.E.B Cosmetics

Yet another South Australian brand. (Mighty South Aussies, yeah!) The talk and product demonstration was given by the creator and founder of R.E.B (her initials if you’d like to know) Cosmetics. A cruelty free, vegan, mineral makeup brand! It is aimed to please very sensitive skin as this is something very important to her. We got to choose an eyeshadow to take home and I’m super keen to try it! There was a really great ‘make your own’ custom palette for just $19.95 that holds four eyeshadows which are just $6.95 for the refills! Definitely something to look into! There is such a wide range of products on offer by R.E.B. There are Adelaide store stockists that you can find on their website and you can also buy online too!

Affordable and pretty – this could be dangerous!

9: L’Oréal Professionnel

Probably the biggest brand that was present.L’Oréal Professionnel is the hair product side of the company with daughter companies such as: Redken, Pureology, Matrix and Kérastase and a heap more! The rep Nikita was so lovely, like genuinely lovely and he had massive respect for what bloggers do which was so nice! He mentioned how they’ve selected bloggers to be key in advertising certain products and also gave some pretty ace advice about photography. He was super up front about the products and I spritzed some in my hair and hot-damn they actually work. We were given full sized products to try out (one of them the product in which I tried) and I can’t wait to start using it when I have my ‘review’ cap on. It’s people like Nikita that respect what bloggers do that make this so much more fun for me. He’s already been sending emails and is obviously great at what he does, he’s 100% a people person. He is someone I’d love to stay in contact with and I hope that through events like this I meet more genuine people. Hats off to you guys!

Also more love for Nikita and L’Oréal – we got our goodie bags at the end of the day so we didn’t have to lug it all around. Sweet, sweet relief!

10: Vani-T

During lunch we talked about some of the places we had each been and there was chatty gossip of ‘have you seen the products at the tanning place – they’re so pretty!’ I obviously hadn’t seen them so I was keen and wondering what brand it was! Enter Vani-T ding ding ding we have a winner! Firstly, its not just tanning products they do, there is also an extensive makeup range that has my heart. The packaging is STUNNING with a capital ohmygod! Girly, and blingy without being gaudy. These are products you want to pull out in public and use because they’re so dang pretty! We were absolutely spoiled by them in our goodie bag, getting to take home full sized products – lipstick, eye pigment and a lip glaze as well as two full size tanning products and a tanning mitt! I had a great chat to the women there about makeup and learned that their products are really universal a lot of multi use products – always a winner! Their eye pigments called “colour crystals” are some next level beauty and I’ve got my eyes on the shade “Ivory Lace”. The Australian brand has the motto of Eco-Glamour which I think is awesome! They’ve had some big name celebs use their products and I think you’d fall in love with it if you tried it! Which I think you should!

Seriously though it was lust at first swatch (hehe) for me with these products!

11: Natralus

Boom, another South Aussie company AND a family owned! I’d heard of Natralus before but didn’t know they were from SA. I’ve used their products such as the hand sanitisers and hand shield (awesome, you must try it) before and LOVED them! So I was pretty keen on seeing this brand and finding out some more about them. The woman giving us the run through was so chilled and really lovely to talk to. She showed us her favourite products and was genuinely excited when we said we knew the brand! We were absolutely spoiled again when it came to goodies. We got some of their NEW range of flavoured paw paw lip butters! I love me some paw paw ointment. To me its like windex in ‘my big fat greek wedding’ cracked lips, dry elbows, squeeky door, bad relationship the list is endless! Now I’ve got one for my bag, purse, desk and office! WINNING!

By this point we were all waddling through the corridors of the apartments with our bags, seriously where is my dang sherpa?

12: Yo-Get-It

Time for an afternoon fro-yo snack? I think YES! We had a demo and taste of some of the açai (ah-sah-hee) bowls on offer at the Yo-Get-It stores and it makes me wish there was one on my end of town! We had a great chat to the rep whilst he made our bowls for us. We talked about the range and products on offer such as gluten free, dairy free other kinds of food adjustments etc and he was just really chill about it. The açai bowl itself was deeeeeeelicious! A fantastic treat to have after lugging all this loot around! It was our last stop so we could sit and enjoy and have some great chats while scoffing down this yummy dessert like treat! He hooked us up with some $$ off coupons which I’m pretty keen to use!

That was the last stop of the brands/reps speed dating and its safe to say I’ve picked the roses I’m going to hand out! (bachelor reference – don’t hate me)

It was time for us to gather in one of the sitting rooms to listen to some inspirational women talk! First up was Jenny from Styling Curvy. Just like her blog says she gave an inspiring and empowering speech about self love and how blogging is hard work and bloggers deserve recognition for what we do. It is hard work and we should be rewarded for what we do. She shared some personal stories that had a few of us tearing up. I’ve been a reader of her blog for a while so to listen to her speak was lovely. I hope there are more Adelaide Blogger catch ups wherein we can all inspire and empower each other.

Next up was a candid and equally as empowering talk from the ladies ofAdelady ; Hayley and Lauren. They shared stories about their previous work and stories from the heart and basically just told us to be the kickass women we are and do what we do for us! It was great to get some advice from other Adeladies.

After that it was time to wrap up the day! A final word from our Adelaide reps Kate and Nici. We then made our way out to receive even MORE gift bags and hobble to the car!

I want to say thank you to everyone who was involved in anyway. Anyone from Bloggers United AU, the SA reps, brands and businesses who were there, or even who weren’t there and donated gift bags. I’m so taken back by it all. Thank you to Adelaide for homing such wonderful people. This event was such a great ice-breaker and I hope to be involved in more catch ups in the future!

Just a look into SOME of the bags we went home with. I don’t even know where to start with trying these products! So be prepared for some review posts coming up!

The last thing I’m going to add to this are my final thoughts. All in all it was a flawless day – if anything wasn’t going to plan no one knew about it, so Kate and Nici well done! You did a fantastic job!

The only things that I have to comment “negatively” on would be the lunch situation (which I’ve already mentioned) and a little to do with the rooms. The location was such a beautiful and ‘instagram-worthy’ place I wish I took more photos! However, due to the fact that the lay out was so random in the sense of room sizes it was a little awkward at times. Davroe were in the kitchen area which was nice and spread out, but people were constantly walking through (to get to the fully stocked fridge to at our disposal – awesome idea ladies). The room Kismet Jardin was in didn’t have enough air flow and became quite overpowering, which is kind of a let down because the company is quite a good one! I think that is really the only criticisms I have. The day was perfect and I hope this happens more in the future!

If you made it this far you are a champion and if I could hug you I would! As always, Thank you so much for reading, and don’t forget: